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Naming bid draws interest locally
Photo
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams
GM’s Chevy Centre contract for naming rights expired.
YOUNGSTOWN — Other businesses are interested in the naming rights to the Chevrolet Centre, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams said.
The mayor wouldn’t divulge the names of the other companies except to say they are “local players.”
City officials started negotiating with local Chevrolet dealers about a week ago after being told by General Motors that it would not renew its naming-rights deal for the center.
Eric Ryan, the center’s executive director, said late last week that a deal would likely be signed later this week.
Williams said Wednesday that Ryan’s timetable was “premature.”
The local dealers are interested in a one-year contract.
The details of the dealers’ proposal haven’t been released.
But Williams said the financial amount is less than GM’s deal.
GM paid $175,000 in cash annually for three years and provided four vehicles a year to the city.
The naming-rights contract expired Sept. 30, but the facility is still using the Chevrolet Centre name.
“We’re pursuing all options,” Williams said. “We’d like to get as long of a term on the contract as possible. If the other parties are looking at deals with a longer term, we need to listen.”
City officials haven’t yet met with the other interested companies, Williams said.
Because of declining revenue and a struggling economy, GM opted not to continue its contract, which had 17 annual renewal options, with the city on the naming rights of the center.
The company is scaling back its sponsorships of sporting events and at entertainment facilities strictly because of the struggling economy and its own business conditions, said Chris Lee, a GM spokesman.
That led to the company’s decision to no longer pay the naming-rights fee for the Chevrolet Centre, he said.
“GM is looking at all the areas of cost and making some difficult decisions regarding expenditures,” he said. “That includes advertisements and every element of the business.”
The company had a “great relationship” with the city, Lee said.
“It’s just based on the current economic climate and our focus going forward prevented us from being able to renew at this point and [in] time,” he said.
The center has experienced a number of financial problems since it opened in October 2005, most notably failing to turn a profit in its first two fiscal years.
The financial statements for its third fiscal year, which ended in September, are expected to be released shortly.
“It’s frustrating and, at times, it’s discouraging,” Williams said of the city-owned facility’s struggles. “Even in the midst of all of this, we’re working on some economic deals with international companies.”
Williams declined to name the companies, but said he hoped the deals would be finalized in a few months.
skolnick@vindy.com